Tallaght

Tallaght (Tamhlacht in Irish) is a large suburban area in the administrative county of South Dublin, Ireland situated to the south west of Dublin city.

Tallaght has a large urban area. It streches from the M50 and Tymon Park in the east out to Saggart and Citywest in the West and from Ballycullen, Firhouse and Knocklyon in the south to Clondalkin and Kilnamanagh in the North. Because of the Large amount of space Tallaght takes up, Many believe it should be designated a City. It has the third largest population in the Republic of Ireland, after Dublin City and Cork City.

Since the early 1970s, Tallaght has developed from a small village into a huge suburban area, which now has all the characteristics (size, infrastructure, residential and business areas) of a self-generating new town with a population of over 100,000 (bigger than Galway - 65,832 and Limerick - 54,023). Tallaght is connected to Dublin city centre by extensive Dublin Bus services and the Red Line of the Luas light rail system, opened in September 2004.

Although part of the larger urban area of Dublin, it has a distinctive identity, arising largely from its rapid growth during the 1970s and is characterised by many of the same problems associated with unplanned fringe areas of many European cities. Although it in the 1970s and 80s it had become synonymous with suburban mismanagement, Tallaght now has a thriving local arts, cultural and economic outlook matched by a distinctive sense of place. Some areas of Tallaght, especially to the west of The Square are still characterised by unacceptable levels of deprivation and antisocial behaviour, though this is now mostly untrue for many areas. According to the 2004 census, the crime rate in Tallaght has risen, while the crime rate has dropped in the rest of Dublin. This is why Tallaght has a bad name among other parts of Dublin such as the D4 area of Dublin.

History

Tallaght is Middle Irish for "plague grave", and is mentioned in Lebor Gabála Érenn (or Book Of Invasions) as being the burial place of thousands of Partholonians who died from the Black Death. Tallaght was a leading monastic settlement in Celtic times, centred around the monastery founded by Saint Mael Ruain some time before his death in AD 792. The monastery became famous for a number of reasons: The Stowe Missal was written here in about AD 800, and religious scholars came from far afield to study in Tallaght.

At this time Tallaght and Finglas were considered centres of learning and were also known as the "Eyes of Ireland". The monastery was later burned down by the Vikings in AD 811.

Areas of Tallaght

Tallaght can be considered as being split up into many different parts. Centrally, Tallaght Village or simply Tallaght is the Area from the east side of the Village to the Abberley Court Hotel at the end of Main Street. To the east of the Village lies the Tymon North/Balrothery area. This includes estates such as Bancroft, Balrothery, Glenview, Castle Park, Bolbrook and Avonbeg. Tymon Park is Ireland's second largest city park which borders Greenhills, Templeogue and Tymon North, it contains with extensive sporting grounds, ponds and one of Ireland's largest playgrounds at the Templeogue entrance. Old Bawn is south of here. It include's estates such as Home Lawns, Seskin View and Aylesbury along with St. Dominic's Shopping Center. Kiltipper is another area Beside Old Bawn and contains most of the Dodder Valley along with Ellensborough. To the west of The Square further down the Bypass there are estates such as such as Cushlawn, Killinarden Estate, Knockmore, Donomore, Springfield, Jobstown, Fettercairn and Kiltalown. This part of Tallaght is seen as a run-down area due to it's high crime giving it the nickname as "The Northside Embassy", however, with the exception of Jobstown, there has been no official statistics to prove this claim. Clondalkin and Kilnamanagh constitute north Tallaght. Firhouse and Knocklyon lie to the south of Tallaght, on the other side of the Dodder River.

Features

Tallaght has been known also for holding a St. Patrick's Day parade (which has not occurred in the last number of years due to excessive cost). It is also home to The Square, one of Ireland's largest shopping centres. The centre is built over three levels and accessible by the Luas and many bus services.

Anchor tenants at the centre include Tesco Ireland, Roches Stores, and Dunnes Stores. A multiplex cinema operated by United Cinemas International is also present, along with several restaurants (including McDonald's, Burger King, and KFC). A major hotel, the Plaza, is adjacent to the site. Unlike other centres, the Square is not only a commercial but a civic centre, in that the Office of the Revenue Commissioners have an office there and the Department of Social and Family Affairs, the Health Service Executive (Eastern Region) and FÁS share a building at the Car-Park of the Bottom level. In addition, the headquarters of South Dublin County Council are adjacent to the site. The Adelaide and Meath Hospital is also located nearby.

Across from the Square is the site of the planned new Shamrock Rovers football ground, the Tallaght Stadium, which is currently marred by financial problems. On the other side of the square is the head offices of the South Dublin County Council, Tallaght Library and the Tallaght Civic Theatre. The increasingly popular Third Level Institution, the Institute of Technology, Tallaght, is located between the Sqaure and Tallaght village.

Current Development

Several new apartment blocks are being finished west of the Square, including a controversial thirteen storey building on the site of the farmhouse known as "Virginia House". This new building will become the largest in Tallaght, and one of the largest in Ireland, being only slightly smaller than Liberty Hall in the city centre. Construction was delayed when residents in Virginia Heights objected to the demolition of the old farmhouse from which the name of their estate comes. Other objections were also made concerning the sunlight and lack of privacy, but each of these objections was overturned in court. In the local assembly, the South Dublin County Council, the plan was voted on and all parties voted in favour of the apartments except Sinn Féin and Labour.

Politics

Politically, the area is in the Dublin South West Dáil constituency and generally votes for left of centre candidates and the 2002 election saw Seán Crowe of Sinn Féin get elected at the first count. Pat Rabbitte, leader of the Labour Party, was also elected along with Charlie O'Connor and Conor Lenihan of Fianna Fail.

This article is licenced under the GNU Free Documentation License. It uses material from the Wikipedia article "Tallaght".

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